Take a Chance
by Dacyon
Summary: Aang's been more fidgety lately and Sokka thinks he knows why, so he decides to help his friend out with some advice. Aang and Sokka friendship, Kataang romance, Modern (with Bending) AU, One-shot. Very fluffy & cheesy.


**A/N** –Modern, Bending AU, One-shot. Very fluffy & cheesy. I'm not very original with coming up with last names for the characters, but I decided to try a little for this story. If any of the names I have listed below are inaccurate, please leave a review/message me so that I can change them if needed.

- For Katara, Sokka, and their parents, I chose the name '**Iluliaq**,' Inuit for '**iceberg**.'

- For Yue, I chose '**Qilaq**,' Inuit for '**sky**' or '**heaven**.'

- '**Meiyo**' or Japanese for '**honor**' is the last name of Zuko's family.

- Suki's last name is '**Senshi**,' Japanese for '**warrior**.'

- Aang's last name is '**Lung**,' Tibetan for '**wind**.'

**Disclaimer**: _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; I own nothing.

* * *

It was like any other Saturday night at the Iluliaq household – Hakoda and Kya had left to do some shopping and spend some quality time together, which also allowed Sokka and Katara to hang out with their friends. As was typical, Sokka, Aang, Toph, and Zuko sat in front of the television playing video games, while Katara and Suki shared the couch, watching occasionally, but mostly having a quiet conversation.

"I win again!"

"Toph, how do you always manage to win? You're _blind_!" Zuko's face was full of irritation at having lost to the blind Earthbender, _again_.

"Uh, Zuko," Sokka spoke up, "you mind not melting the plastic?" The Firebender looked down at his controller – his anger had caused his hands to heat up, starting to warp the plastic covering of the controller he was holding. He smiled sheepishly at his friend for the damage. "Well, at least we know which controller you'll be using from now on, Jerkbender."

"Don't feel so bad, Sparky. It's not like you were even in second place or anything."

"Sokka, is your house insured?" The Firebender was no longer holding onto his controller, but his hands were visibly glowing.

"Uh, yeah, it is Zuko. Why do you – don't you freaking _dare_ think about lighting anything on fire in here!"

"Well I wouldn't if Toph would stop _gloating_ in my face!"

"Oh, sure blame the poor, innocent _blind_ girl!"

Aang was watching the situation unfold and trying to determine when it would be best to intervene, but wasn't having much luck. Thankfully someone else took care of the arguing trio.

Before you could say 'Flameo,' Sokka, Toph, and Zuko suddenly found their mouths frozen over with ice. Their attacker – a severely aggravated Katara – as shown by her twitching eyebrow – who had sacrificed a bowl of roses on an end-table to quiet the three making the ruckus, "Would you three just be quiet!" The Waterbender pointed to the other person sitting beside her on the couch, "Suki and I are trying to have a conversation here!"

"_Huko_! Wook ah wah yu dih!" Sokka glared accusingly at the Firebender, who merely shrugged and offered a mumbled 'sowwi' before returning to the game.

After a few minutes of muted curses and general grumbling from Toph and Sokka (Zuko kept his mouth shut, not wanting to risk using his Firebending to accidentally melt the ice and incur the wrath of Katara), Aang finally spoke up, "Hey, Katara?"

The previously agitated Waterbender turned towards her best friend – now calm and with a sweet smile on her face, "Yes, Aang?"

"Do you think you could unfreeze their mouths? Or else we're going to spend the rest of the night listening to mumbled 'mmphs' coming from the three of them."

"Good point," Katara then proceeded to bend the ice off of the previously squabbling trio. "Now keep it quiet down there!"

A trio of 'Yes ma'am' came from the mouths that were only moments ago frozen over with ice. Knowing they could eventually return to speaking at a more normal level if they let Katara have a few more minutes to cool down, the trio stayed silent while Aang hummed a tune. The Airbender paused his humming when he picked up on a small part of Katara's quiet conversation with Suki.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Suki? I mean, what if he . . . you know . . . doesn't?"

"Katara, all I can tell you is that you have to take a chance on this or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Realizing he had probably been far too obviously distracted, Aang stopped listening to whatever it was Katara and Suki were discussing, resumed his humming, and focused on the game in front of him.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

By request of Toph's parents, she wasn't allowed to stay past 9:30 P.M., and so, begrudgingly, Toph said her goodbyes when the time came and headed home. Aang and Zuko would often spend the night at the Iluliaq home after a long Saturday night of gaming – typically the two would fall asleep, along with Sokka, on the living room floor and its furniture. However, the Meiyo family was going to visit Zuko's grandparents Azulon and Ilah the following day, so he left shortly after Toph. Lastly, Suki had developed one of her boyfriend's bad habits and put off an essay until the last minute. Deciding to use all of Sunday to get it done, she gave Sokka a quick kiss before heading out the door and going home at around 9:45.

Shortly after ten o'clock, Sokka stretched and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He then stood in the archway between the two rooms, sipping the cool water as he relaxed for a moment. Under his close scrutiny, he watched as Aang carelessly controlled his virtual car around the racetrack; the younger boy appeared to be sweating slightly and on the verge of hyperventilating. Sokka noted that while Aang's body remained oriented towards the screen, his head was facing the girl on the couch.

Shifting his gaze towards his sister, he saw that she now had a book in front of her and was apparently paying little attention to anything else. He saw Katara nibble on her lower lip as if she was thinking about something; she then closed her eyes, set her book down in her lap, and stretched, raising her arms above her head.

Turning back to Aang, he saw his friend take in a sharp breath as his in-game vehicle flew off the edge of the map – clearly all of Aang's attention was on Katara at the moment. His sister suddenly yawned and rubbed her eyes before standing up, setting her book down next to the bowl of now-dead roses, and announcing she was heading to bed. Pausing by her best friend, she ruffled Aang's hair and smiled, "Goodnight, Aang."

"G-G'Night, Katara." Sokka mused that the poor guy almost had a heart attack from the contact.

"Night, sis," he called from his position between the two rooms.

Katara yawned again before responding, "Night, Sokka." With that, she continued down the hallway of their one-story house towards her room. After he heard the door to her room close, Sokka turned back to the kitchen cabinets, grabbed another glass, filled it with ice and water, and headed back out towards his friend. Placing it in front of Aang, the high-school sophomore readily accepted it, mumbling a 'thanks,' before greedily gulping down the water, the ice cubes clinking together as he set the glass down.

Sokka chuckled, "Didn't know your mouth was that dry, did you?"

Aang shook his head, "I had no idea – how come you did?"

The high-school senior began shutting down and cleaning up their game system – it was clear Aang had lost interest in it and Sokka knew there was no fun in racing against Aang if his friend's heart wasn't in it. Setting the controllers back in their basket, he smiled, "Let's just say I've been in the same situation before." Aang suddenly turned crimson, realizing he'd been caught. "And, no, I'm not mad, Aang. In fact, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather see Katara with than you."

"_What_? I-I don't l-like Katara, Sokka. She's my _best friend_ – things would be super awkward between us if I had feelings for her!"

Sokka shook his head – Aang was trying to avoid openly admitting he had fallen in love with his best friend. While Sokka couldn't be completely certain, he was pretty sure that Katara was in the same boat as Aang. "Buddy, there's no reason to hide your feelings. If you tell her, you'll be able to be alone in the same room as her without having a heart attack."

Aang sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "But, Sokka, what if she doesn't feel the same way as I do? Nothing would ever be the same between us. As much as I want to tell Katara that I like her, I'm scared we'd never be as close as we are now." His voice dropped down to a whisper. "Is it worth it to try and gain romantic love if it might cost you your platonic love?"

Sokka frowned – he had hoped it would be easier to convince Aang that he should just tell Katara he liked her. Scooting over to sit next to the young Airbender, he threw his arm around the younger boy's shoulders. "Aang, do you remember Yue Qilaq?"

Aang looked up at his friend and blinked – confused as to how Yue related to the topic at hand, but nevertheless, he knew how much Sokka had loved her, so he nodded.

Sokka continued, "I knew there was something special about her the first time we met. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I guess you could say it was love at first sight." He smiled, "We started going out the first week of our freshman year – everything was perfect." His eyes grew watery, "And then, after fall break, we learned she had cancer. The doctors told us it was advanced, that she wouldn't make it past winter." He paused and let a few tears fall down his face. "We said 'I love you' to each other the day before she died. I told her I'd never love another, but she made me promise I'd move on. I told her I'd try my best."

It was Aang's turn to put an arm around his friend's shoulder – they had always done that, been there for each other through the hard times, ever since they were little. They were more brothers than friends at this point. Sokka sniffed before continuing, "And then, after spending the rest of my freshman year and sophomore year trying to avoid thinking about relationships and love, _she_ came back my junior year." Aang smiled – before Suki Senshi had moved away halfway through her and Sokka's eighth-grade year, there had always been an obvious mutual crush between the two, but they had never acted on it.

"At first, when I noticed my old feelings for Suki had grown into something more, I tried to reject them. I knew Yue would have wanted me to move on, but I felt like I was betraying her in some way. And, I also worried that if Suki didn't feel the same way anymore, I'd lose the love we shared just from being friends." He smiled down at his friend, his tears gone. "But you know what? I took a chance." Sokka nodded towards one of the shelves along the wall – a single photo of him with Yue, followed by several of him with Suki, covered its surface, "And look where we are now."

"So, what are you trying to tell me, Sokka?"

"Aang," Sokka looked back down at the young Airbender, "I'm telling you that you gotta take a chance." The non-bender saw the uncertainty start to appear on Aang's face, so he continued. "If Katara rejects you and you two just stay friends. . ."

"That's making me feel _real_ confident, Sokka."

"You didn't let me finish. But if she rejects you, you two will probably stay friends, good friends – you'd both be _idiots_ to give up such a good friendship because one of you didn't like the other romantically. And it'd hurt like hell at first, but _you'd get past it_, you'd fall in love with someone else someday." Aang was looking even more dejected now – Sokka decided it was time for what his sister would refer to as 'positive reinforcement.' "But if she reciprocates your feelings. . ." Sokka let the thought linger in the younger boy's mind, "But you'll _never_ know if you don't _take a chance_."

"When do you think I should, you know, talk to her?"

Sokka stroked his chin, "Well, I think it would be best if you asked her in private – shoot for tomorrow morning. You and Katara both tend to be the first ones up, I sleep-in way later than I should, and our parents probably won't be up until nine o'clock." Aang nodded his head, still looking unsure. "Hey," Aang glanced up at his friend, "you can do this." Sokka smiled, "Now, let me take care of that glass for you." The older boy stood up, "Now, I'm probably going to go to bed soon myself. You are welcome to crash in here or sleep on the floor in my room, 'cause tonight, I'm using my bed and not an armchair like last week." As if to emphasize his bad experience the previous weekend, Sokka's back cracked rather loudly as he stretched.

Aang picked himself up with some subtle Airbending while Sokka walked back into the kitchen. Rinsing out the glass, he left it with the others waiting to be washed before returning to the living room. In the short time he was gone, Katara had apparently returned to the living room – Sokka enjoyably took note of the fact both his sister and friend had flushed cheeks as they stared at each other. Why? Well, Aang had just taken his shirt off to get ready for bed and Katara was standing in her nightclothes – if that wasn't evidence of mutual attraction, Sokka didn't know what was.

"I was just, uh, coming to get my book," Katara pointed towards the end-table where she had left it, but her eyes remained focused on Aang's slim, but muscular torso. "I guess I forgot it earlier."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sure." Aang continued mumbling as he looked at Katara in her night clothes, before blushing harder and returning to folding his shirt.

Sokka smirked – if he didn't know how serious the two were about their feelings for each other, he probably would have teased them, but he refrained from doing so. Instead, he forced a yawn, announcing his presence in the room. As the two other teens looked towards him, he jerked his thumb down the hall. "I'm headin' to bed, goodnight you two."

"Goodnight, Sokka."

"Night, man." As he walked down the hall, he turned around and caught Aang's gaze before giving him a subtle wink of encouragement – basically, 'now's your chance, talk to her.'

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

After hearing Sokka's door close, Aang knew he had to act quickly. He had been given a golden opportunity to tell Katara his feelings for her and he knew that if he didn't act on it, he wouldn't be brave enough to tell her in the morning. He turned around and opened his mouth to speak. "Katara."

"Aang."

They both blushed again; they had a tendency to talk at the same time. Katara began to nervously stroke her hair, trying to look anywhere but at Aang. "You go first, Katara."

The Waterbender shook her head, "No, Aang, I think you should go first."

Aang sighed before walking over to sit down on the sofa, patting the seat beside him as an invitation for Katara to join him, which she quickly did. "I – I don't really know where to begin. I've been meaning to tell you something for a while, but whenever I try to, I either get interrupted by someone or I lose my nerve."

"Aang," the boy looked towards his best friend, "you can tell me anything." Katara placed her hand reassuringly on Aang's shoulder, both blushing at the contact. "You know that."

"I know, it's just . . . complicated. What I have to tell you, I'm worried that it might ruin our friendship." Aang's voice broke, "And I don't know what I'd do without you, Katara."

"_Oh, Aang_, come here." Katara held her arms out for him, offering a hug. Aang wasted no time in accepting her offer. "No matter what, I'll always be there for you, Aang." She rubbed small circles in his back, trying to help calm him. "Nothing could get in the way of our friendship." Her voice fell to a whisper, "I don't know what I'd do without you, either, Aang."

After a few minutes of just sitting in their silent embrace, Katara stroking Aang's back, Aang threading his hands through Katara's long hair, they pulled back. "Sorry."

Katara smiled gently towards her best friend, "You have nothing to be sorry for, Aang. To be completely honest, that was as much a reassurance for me as it was for you. Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

The Airbender decided it was time to take an Earthbender-style approach – face the problem head-on. Blushing lightly, Aang spoke, "I've wanted to tell you that I like you, Katara."

Katara giggled – Aang's heart sank – "Of course you like me, silly! We're best friends!"

"No, I – I like you, but more than normal. As in, I _like_ you." He then shook his head, placing his palms on his temples, appearing frustrated, "No, that's not it exactly."

"Aang, what are you saying?" Katara was apprehensive – she wanted to hear Aang say something specific, but she needed to be prepared to hear something completely different.

Aang heaved a heavy sigh before turning his gaze to meet Katara's. "I'm saying . . . I'm saying I love you, Katara." He watched as Katara's face went from that of concern to wide-eyed shock, her mouth hanging slightly open. Aang felt his heart breaking – Sokka was right, it _did_ hurt like hell. "And I understand if you don't feel the same way, Katara." He paused and closed his eyes, lowering his head, "I just fell so hard for you and I was scared that if I told you it would ruin everything we had and then I knew if I didn't tell you now –"

The Airbender never got to finish his sentence because a pair of soft lips came crashing down hard on his own. Aang's eyes flew open at the sudden contact and he stared at Katara in disbelief, but quickly he closed his eyes again and returned the kiss. After what had only been a few seconds – but what seemed like an eternity to both Aang and Katara – they separated. The sight of the two of them would have probably been comical – both wide-eyed, cheeks flushed, and lips still puckered.

Aang was the first to recover, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing furiously, "Whoa."

His small statement brought Katara out of her blissful daze, "Yeah, whoa." She began to blush just as hard as Aang.

The Airbender cleared his throat after a few moments of awkward silence, "So, uh, I'm taking it that this means you like me?"

Katara laughed in response, "No, Aang, this doesn't mean I like you," she smiled brightly, "it means I love you." She paused, thinking, before asking, "How long have you wanted to tell me that?"

Aang twiddled his thumbs absentmindedly, "Uh, probably a couple years. I mean, I think I started crushing on you when we first met, but it probably wasn't until eighth grade that I really started falling for you. And I've been completely, utterly in love with you for about a year now."

"Even when I dated Jet for a while? You loved me then? You were so supportive when I chose to go out with him. Didn't that kill you inside? Why didn't you say something?"

Aang chuckled, "One question at a time, Katara." The girl blushed and apologized for rambling. "It's okay. Yeah, even when you dated Jet, I loved you. I didn't want to say something because I could see how much you liked Jet – it pained me to see you after you broke up with him, you were so heartbroken. And I didn't want to tell you I loved you right after you broke up with another guy, that wouldn't be right. It might've killed me inside to see you with another guy, but I promised myself I'd always be your friend first, and if possible, your lover second."

Before he could react, Katara had pulled him into a crushing hug, "That's one of the things I love about you most Aang," she said as joyful tears fell past her eyes, "how selfless you are. Even when I was with another guy, you thought of me before yourself."

Aang returned the hug with vigor, "All I've ever wanted was to see you happy." He leaned back from the hug, "But what about you? When'd you fall in love with me?"

Katara giggled, "Right after I broke up with Jet. I realized everything I had ever wanted in a boyfriend was everything I already had in my best friend – I was just scared I'd ruin our friendship if I said anything."

The Airbender chuckled, "Well, at least that makes two of us."

"So, where does this leave us?"

Aang glanced down at Katara, staring into her cerulean eyes, "Well, if you'd have me, I'd love to be your boyfriend."

The Waterbender giggled again as she stared back into his stormy gray orbs, "Only if you'll have me as your girlfriend."

Aang's signature crooked grin broke out across his face, "I think that sounds like a mutually beneficial agreement."

Katara slapped his arm playfully, "You're making it sound less like a romance and more like a business deal."

Grabbing Katara around the waist, the Airbender leaned back along the sofa. Katara shrieked as she was pulled down on top of Aang, while the Airbender himself laughed. "So, is this how you thought your Saturday night was gonna go?" Aang asked as he brushed a lock of Katara's hair behind one of her ears.

The Waterbender returned his playful smile, "No, but this is definitely better than anything I could have ever imagined." Leaning down, she placed a soft kiss against his lips, which he readily returned. Pulling back, she whispered, "Say it again."

Aang smiled, "I love you, Katara Iluliaq."

"I love you, too, Aang Lung."

The two spent a few more minutes kissing, giggling, and reiterating their love for each other before drifting off to sleep in each other's arms. The lights automatically turned off soon after, so when Hakoda and Kya returned home, they didn't notice the blissful couple asleep on the couch.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sokka awoke the next morning confused. While he typically did sleep in later than he should on Sundays, he was also typically awoken by the smell of cooking bacon. Grumbling, he made his way out of bed and down the hall towards the kitchen, intent on badgering Katara as to why she hadn't made breakfast yet. He walked straight into the kitchen, but to his surprise, he saw that no one was in it – nor was any food being prepared, or any sign that food had been prepared.

Turning on his heel, he marched back down the hall, but stopped when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking into the living room, he saw Aang and Katara asleep on the couch together. The tall, lanky Airbender was lying down on the couch, with the slightly shorter Waterbender curled up on top of him. Aang had a protective arm around Katara's waist, while she had her head snuggled up against his bare chest, her long brown hair framing her face. As the sunlight poured into the room, Sokka couldn't be sure, but he was almost certain he spotted the new couple with small smiles on their sleeping faces.

The non-bender stood in the archway just as he had last night, smirking at the couple. While he wouldn't admit it, they looked good together and he was glad to see Aang had gone ahead and taken a chance – which had paid off wonderfully for both him and Katara.

Sokka decided he'd let Katara off the hook this once for not making breakfast, but only this once.

* * *

**A/N** – I've seen the 'modern Toph is blind but is great at video games' used many times, so I decided to give a little nod to the idea.

And if you think I made Aang a bit too emotional when he's talking to Katara about how he doesn't want to ruin their friendship and that he doesn't know what he'd do without her, and his voice breaks, well I wanted to try and establish just how _strong_ a bond the two share. He doesn't cry, but he definitely is emotional about it. We see in the series that Aang tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, bottling emotions up isn't his thing. We saw just how disastrously that affected his friendships in "The Desert" and "The Serpent's Pass." And Aang's the kinda guy who might have a lot of friends, but as we see in the series, few best friends – people who understand him and respect him for who he is. And key among those is Katara. So the thought of possibly damaging his relationship with his best friend weighs very, very heavily on him.


End file.
